Lastly, it appears that Oksana is going to be a guest star on SOI for the month of January......appearing on the west coast (yeah) at 11 shows, which all take place in WA, CA, OR and one in Lake Placid, NY (which will also be televised!)......here's the link: http://www.starsonice.com/tickets/default.asp

"God gives many performers physical talent...He usually forgets to give them the soul of an artist...He gave Oksana everything." - Galina Zmievskaya"She has such a range as a performer...SHE...could do anything...if she set her mind to it...there isn't a style that she could not handle" - Sandra Bezic"And the incredible arms that she has on the ice...AMAZING to watch...so graceful." - Peter Carruthers"She's got the strength of her skating in artistry...her approach to her skating is unique to everybody else...in the skating community. And young skaters out there...if you want to be special....follow your own path. She has." - Scott Hamilton

Long time, no see..........though I have to admit that I haven't been to Golden Skate for about 6 mos..........that's my time off from skating until it starts up again in Ocotober. Thus, I was surprised when I found out that it had moved. Luckily, I was able to re-register & begin again for the new season (btw love the set-up of the new board; no lie; props to Paula). (:^)

Yes, you guessed correctly my friend........this drawing was done by our famous Crystal.........remember when she sent out drawings to all of us Oksana Baiul Fans several years ago? OMG, can that lady draw - have both The Swan & The Feeling Begins framed & put in places of honor in my skating collection - btw did you know she is a professional artist (no lie); has her own gallery IIRC.

John, do you still keep in touch w/other Oksana Fans? If so, what are they all up to? My only contact w/them was via the internet, but have lost touch w/all of them since I decided a few yrs. ago to no longer participate in individual skater boards/fansites, et al. Since we were only a small handful to begin with, I have to admit that I miss seeing their individual & varied posts. Boy, we were all quite a bunch, weren't we?......so diverse......honestly loved it! lol! Anyhow, if you hear from Jennifer L. (btw sometimes see her post over on SkateFans & RSSIF), Steve W., Shannon B., Crystyal W., Dan B., Sasha H., Steve A., or Dina S. (sorry can't remember their usernames), please tell them I said "Hola" & send them my love (no lie). Also, please tell them I've always felt bad about not being able to get that Russian Orphan Project off the ground, which I was in charge of - there was just not enough of us members - but at least we tried (no lie). And I apolgize about it to you too, John.

***Note: btw, I sent a sympathy card to Sasha when her grandfather passed away, but it was returned back to me - wrong address? - hope she's doing well at University. Btw, IIRC, she was on her way to becoming a ballerina, right? She definitely had the skills, talent, resume, physique, experience & love of ballet that's for sure.***

Back to Oksana & her guest star appearance on Stars On Ice (yeah). I hope to bring my six yr. old baby niece to the one in Seattle (btw thanks so much, Moulya, for coming here in August). And I hope to see you there, John, b/c IIRC you came up here one year for Champions On Ice, correct?

Peace & Love, Nadine (:^)

P.S. Oops, another Oksana Fan that comes to mind is the first one I met when I originally came online in 1999 - can't recall his real name - but think his username was BigBo??? Anyhow, this young man was really nice to me & sent all of us Oksana Fans compilation tapes that year. I wish him well also; think he's at University now.

Yitzhak Finnegan speaking;-)

er....,that was my username on FSW,anyways,yes Nadine,I do keep in touch with SteveA,JenniferL,SashaH,Zhivago,Alexey Odzemok,Larry,JAnders,and a few others.The one you are thinking of was BrianFromTexas and,yes,I do keep in touch with him.Another is Scott Banker,you should drop a line at his message board at www.angelfire.com/ok5/oksanabaiul ,look who he credits as helping him with his site!I haven't heard from Dina since FSRForum went kaput for the second time,ouch!

No,I never went to Champions On Ice outside of Calgary,saw SOI in Toronto with Mom & a friend,saw COI in Red Deer,Alberta with my brother,but that's it.Met ScottH,JoseeC and BrianO at a fundraiser in Cowtown,also met Elvis,Kurt,LizM at other times.Hope SOI has a Canadian wing(as it has in the past).

Drop me a line anytime you want,I'll let the old gang know you send your love.

And thanks for doing that for me (aka sending them my love)........appreciate it mucho (no lie).......especially since I'm not one to keep in contact with anyone over the net. It's just not me, I stand alone, especially after that stalking incident in 1999. Now I dont' trust anyone, sad to say, nor do I really believe anyone unless I know them in person (btw that doesn't include all you Oksana Baiul Fans I mentioned up above; no lie).

Back on topic, yeah you're right, SOI does have a separate Canadian wing (likewise I hear they're going to Europe as well).....hope you get to see Oksana again......and all your other FAVS as well.

***Note: oops, really thought you came up to Seattle one year - sorry about that - thought you were the one that went to a local music store here & bought Oksana that gorgeous music box.***

Peace & Love & Sincerely, Nadine

P.S. Dina S., contacted me once last year on the new FSW before it went kaput - invited me to post on her new forum - sad to hear this one went kaput too (though I never did post). :(

I'm right here, Nadine!
I still miss the Oksana fan board. We had such a good time over there. Maybe now that Oksana is skating again, someone will get inspired and start a new board? (I was thinking of doing it myself, but I'm not very good at that type of thing.)
I still hear from Steve/Zhivago and John King (Hi, John!). Once in awhile, I'll see one of Brian's posts on FSU or some other board. Oksana's friend Johnny posted on FSU a couple of times last summer. But I haven't heard from the rest of the old gang lately. I'm sure some of them will show up here or on FSU or RSSIF once Oksana has been on TV. I can'r wait to see her, especially after reading these reviews.

Good to see you, Jen.......sometimes I see your posts over on RSSIF & SkateFans.......didn't know you posted here also. (:^) That's good to know. Hope everything is well with you. Btw, I forgot that you write skating fiction (must check it out). As to your starting your own Oksana Baiul Fan Site, I say yeah! But I can't guarantee I'd do any posting, but I will definitely check it out (no lie). Just don't want to become a fanatic, which I think I almost became or did in fact become!

Here are some more links that I discovered that mention Oksana (btw didn't know SOI had their own MB; LOVE IT; must post one of these days):

***SOI message board.......mentions in one of the older threads that Oksana is scheduled to do 22 shows.......yeah! If she does well, maybe she'll even be a full cast member next year, if she wants to though. Because IIRC Oksana has mentioned in the past that she doesn't like touring full-time ~ living on the road, in & out of hotels, room service, et al ~ thus this guest star cast member status appears just right for her!*** http://www.starsonice.com/bulletinboards/default.asp

For OKSANA BAIUL Fans(Does Exist)

Thanks,Ladies!Didn't know about SOI's Bulletin board either.Oh well,I have registered,even included my signature line.Jen,if you don't feel up to scratch with starting your own Oksana board,why not go to Scott Bankers?It's still around.

John,
I'll check out Scott's site very soon. I'll check out the SOI board, too. I have read it before. But I've been in alurking mood these days.

Nadine,
Thanks for the links. I'll pass them along to Zhivago.
Private Ice, the site where my skating fiction is published, is currently undergoing reconstruction. The last time I looked, only part of my serial, "The Strong and the Sequined" was available for viewing. But the site might have been updated since then.
I finished my skating novel, "Red Flags" over the summer. (434 pages, double spaced.) Right now, I'm drafting a query letter to send out to agents. I also have to figure out which agents I should send it to.

Just wanted to say thanks, Nadine, for the reviews. For years I've been longing to read reviews that suggest Oksana has rediscovered her love of and immense talent for truly dancing on ice. Now I only wish I was moving back to the USA to live! Oh well, fingers crossed BOI and IFS will include pictures from the event in their fall issues!

John, thanks for the link to Scott's site.....unfortunately was unable to check it out due to either computer problems or it not showing up for some reason......though I was able to view the front page. Nice site.

Jen, WOOHOO! CONGRATULATIONS! on finishing your skating novel! Funny, I can't seem to remember your writing one though, but I do remember Zhivago writing one about Oksana. Did he ever finish it??? Anyhow, I'm am definitely going to be purchasing all books from Oksana Baiul Fans (no lie). Btw, love your writing - what I read of your skating fiction a few yrs. ago was superb! [two thumbs way up]

ballerinagrl, your welcome ( ), btw maybe you can see Oksana perform with SOI - she's scheduled to perform in Antwerp, Belgium, on November 22nd & 23rd. Here's a link to the SOI thread discussing it (enjoy; btw if you do go please write up a review; thanks in advance ): http://www.starsonice.com/bulletinbo...?TOPIC_ID=1785

Peace & Love, Nadine

"But time is cruel to a dancer...and steals from the body...what the soul needs most to say. She speaks now through her memories to the future of dance. When she teaches steps that were created for her...she passes down more than dance...she passes on what it is to be a dancer." - Maria Tallchief, America's 1st prima ballerina

Thanks. The novel and my skating serial are related-- same fictional skating world, many of the same characters. The book is set in an earlier time period (1970-1990) and concentrates primarily on one character's (Larissa's) story. But Vladi, Jacques, Cassandra, Igor, Dmitra, and some of the other folks from "The Strong and the Sequined" are major players here.

Can just imagine the bio that Z is going to be doing on Oksana.....it just whets my appetite (no lie).......seems like he's been working on her biography for a loooooong time now. Mayhap since he saw her skate live at the 94 Olympics & subsequently interviewed her afterwards. Either way, I simply cannot wait until it's published! GOOOOOOOOO Z! (:^D

In the meantime, I also cannot wait for your skating novel (no lie). Btw, I'm anxious to see your characters come to life on paper - I recall those names you mentioned in your post - can't wait to read about them all over again. In fact, I definitely have to read "The Strong & The Sequined" in order to reacquaint myself with Larissa, Dmitra, Jacques, Cassandra, et al - truly looking forward to it. The last great skating novel I read was "Dreams of Gold" by Maynard F. Thomson - it's so worn from my perusal of it - it's the only one I can read over & over again (that's how much I loved it; title character reminded me of a combo. of Oksana Baiul & Midori Ito, my dream skater; no lie). In fact, actually, as the 2002 Olympics drew nearer, I swear the title character was Sarah Hughes come to life. And what an ending!

***Note: btw, I too am soooo very HAPPY for Oksana as regards her father & grandmother ~ it just warms the heart ~ no lie.***

RealtorGal ( ), lol, seriously your post made me literally laugh out loud! :D Yeah, I suppose most people think the same way as you do. And Courtney knows that, but is serious about the title. She really isn't as bad as people think. Quite an enigma actually ~ funny, strong, spontaneous, knowledgeable, smart, intelligent, creative, outspoken, good mother, caring, kind, generous, passionate, salvaje, feminist, collector of dolls, aficionado of the silent film era, activist, et al ~ not enough adjectives to describe her. I'm just happy that she's finally coming out with an album after a 6-yr. rest in which she took time off to raise her daughter. She really is the last true rock star IMHO. Nowadays, all are commercialized, packaged, safe. Whereas Courtney is the real deal ~ only problem is she has to learn how to ride the edge without going over. JMHO. Back to skating.

Peace & Love, Nadine

"That's why Lars from Metallica is so obsessed with our band. He can't believe that someone with a uterus is a better drummer than him." - C.Lo